The repository lists the publications of research group Prehistoric Phenomena since its founding by B. Horejs in 2011. It contains archaeological/interdisciplinary studies in Asian and European prehistory, focusing on Anatolia, the Near East and the Balkans.

The NEOTECH Project aims to shed new light on the Neolithisation process in the central Balkans. Excavations were conducted at the site of Svinjarička Čuka, during which remains of the Neolithic and the Metal Ages could be identified. This data will be…

A new collaboration with the Göbeklitepe excavations of the Taş Tepeler project was initiated in 2025 to start new state-of-the-art and multi-level geoarchaeological investigations at Göbeklitepe in the context of its landscape. Understanding the dimensions of this…

A new research project was initiated in 2019 at the famous Neolithic site Amzabegovo in Macedonia (Central Balkans), half a century after the notorious campaigns by Marija Gimbutas (UCLA) and Milutin Garašanin (University of Belgrade). Since 2022, after…

This project focuses on the first permanent settlements in Neolithic and the development to proto-urban centres in Early Bronze Age period. Combining both research topics enable a broad spectrum of cultural modelling, based upon multidisciplinary, diachronic, and…

This interdisciplinary project explores personal relations, gender and family structures at Bronze Age communities across the Austrian and Czech border (c. 1600–800 BC).

The study of burial practices in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the southern Levant will highlight similarities and differences. These results can lead us to estimate ritual and religious beliefs at that time and comparing these results with other sites and the…

By utilising micro-scale traces of human activity trapped within archaeological sediments, the NEOSOL project seeks to shed new light on the development of settled life along the Vardar-Morava river system during the early Neolithic Period.

During the past decade, the »ancient DNA revolution« has reopened key questions about prehistoric kinship that within archaeogenetics is narrowly viewed as genetic proximity. From a socio-cultural anthropological perspective, however, kinship is not only a…

In Southeastern Europe, the emergence of the Neolithic (c. 6000 cal BC) is associated with the development of two main Neolithic horizons, which have been identified based on two different ceramic styles: the Impressed Ware in the coastal areas (Adriatic) and the…

In this project, stable isotope ratio analyses of archaeological bones and teeth from Çukuriçi Höyük (Western Anatolia) and Svinjarička Čuka (Serbia) will be used to reveal new insights into Neolithic animal husbandry practices.

Starting point of the studies on Neolithic Imagery are the excavated objects depicting anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures as well as fantastic creatures at Çukuriçi Höyük (Türkiye) and in Svinjarička Čuka (Serbia), both representing pioneers in early to middle…

The project aims to shed new light on the Neolithization process in the Central Balkans by analyzing green amulets from sites all over the Balkan region with the potential impact of new production technologies and the localization of deposits or Nephrite in the…

The importance of the neolithization process lies in its position as being a milestone in our social evolution when essential changes took place. These changes include: 1) a shift from mobile to sedentary lifestyle and development of architecture, 2) developed…

Around 4500 years ago, far-reaching trade networks can be detected for the first time, reaching from the Indus region to the Aegean Sea. Within the project, these networks are investigated by a case study at the site of Kalba on the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula.…

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming and herding stands as one of the major economic changes in the human past. The origins of the Neolithic in the Near East and its expansion into western Anatolia and the Aegean basin are equally crucial for…

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the…

By utilising micro-scale traces of human activity trapped within archaeological sediments, the NEOSOL project seeks to shed new light on the development of settled life along the Vardar-Morava river system during the early Neolithic Period.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the…

The aim of this project is to take an innovative and explorative approach to understanding of the past in the Balkans by assembling the results of cross-border and diachronic archaeological research with the use of responsive, wide-ranging visualization tools.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the…

During the Early and Middle Neolithic (ca. 6000–5500 cal BC), the emergence of settled farming communities in the Central Balkans fostered new technological and social practices. Among them, pottery played a central role, representing a dynamic technological…